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Thread: Logging DNFs

  1. #1
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    Default Logging DNFs

    In the Pet Peeve thread people are talking about logging a find without signing the physical log and it got me thinking about something Ben and I discussed this weekend.

    We have noticed that we seem to log a lot more DNFs than we see on other profiles. We have 70 finds and 9 DNFs. Plus, we've seen logs where people say "I searched for this last month and couldn't find it, got it today" but had never logged the DNF. We did that once because we forgot to log the original DNF, but the rest of the time we try to log it unless time constraints forced us not to give ourselves a fair amount of time to find it.

    Other than personal stats, is there any stigma with logging a DNF? I like to log them because it serves as a reminder for us to go back and try again... plus at least two DNFs that I have logged ended up being caches that were actually missing and the cache owners took action.

    The only negative I can think of with logging a DNF is it may discourage people from searching for a cache. I know that if I am far from home and see a log where the 2 or 3 most recent posts are DNF I will not choose to search for that cache. Is there something else that I am missing?

  2. #2
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    Default

    I think you pretty much summed it up quite well. I like to post my DNF's for the simple reasons you posted. It gives the owner some idea the cache might indeed be missing and they need to probably check on it to make sure it is still there. How else would they know if something might be wrong?
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  3. #3
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    There is a stigma for some people. I log all my DNF's even if they occur consecutively. Besides admitting that I'm a terrible geocacher it lets others know what the issues I faced, even if the issues don't affect others experiences, while I searched for the cache.
    There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.~~Albert Einstein
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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by benandtina View Post
    . . . but the rest of the time we try to log it unless time constraints forced us not to give ourselves a fair amount of time to find it.

    Other than personal stats, is there any stigma with logging a DNF? I like to log them because it serves as a reminder for us to go back and try again... plus at least two DNFs that I have logged ended up being caches that were actually missing and the cache owners took action.

    The only negative I can think of with logging a DNF is it may discourage people from searching for a cache. I know that if I am far from home and see a log where the 2 or 3 most recent posts are DNF I will not choose to search for that cache. Is there something else that I am missing?
    I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head . . . I think a lot of newbies to geocaching do not realize you can log DNF or falsely think it is a black mark against them when in fact as you have mentioned it is actually a rather useful tool -- as a hider if I see a number of DNFs I will often go check the cache to make sure it is there and where and how I placed it . . . and as a searcher when I see a cache with lots of DNFs and the owner has not confirmed the cache is there I am more prone to pass on the cache unless I know it may be a particularly challenging cache to find (i.e. in Firefighterjake's Cache Dictionary you will find examples of Laughing Terry's caches listed as examples of "particuarly challenging cache" . . . along with BRdad's Old 470 cache.)

    I know when I first started I didn't want to log DNFs out of some misplaced fear that other veteran cachers would think I was an idiot . . . now I realize after finding many caches and logging many DNFs as well that it doesn't matter how many DNFs I log . . . other cachers still think I am an idiot.

    Like you, about the only time I search and do not log the DNF is if I feel the search was just a cursory search . . . I didn't put any real effort into looking for it or spent too little time (i.e. due to time constraints for example.)
    "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by firefighterjake View Post
    I know when I first started I didn't want to log DNFs out of some misplaced fear that other veteran cachers would think I was an idiot . . . now I realize after finding many caches and logging many DNFs as well that it doesn't matter how many DNFs I log . . . other cachers still think I am an idiot.
    Haha, that was one of the reasons Ben came up with for our many DNFs. "Maybe we're just much worse at this than everyone else?"

    Good to know there is no other negativity associated with logging a DNF... I guess we'll keep doing this the way we have been!

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by benandtina View Post
    We have noticed that we seem to log a lot more DNFs than we see on other profiles. We have 70 finds and 9 DNFs
    I may be reading your statement incorrectly, but just in case - you will not see other cacher's DNFs on their profiles, you can only see their finds.

    I had to check with GSAK, I have logged 13 DNFs on caches on my found list. A couple of those are DNFs on caches I had previously found but revisited to find it missing. I still have several outstanding DNFs in Maine and other states which I have not returned to find. I would guess there are between 5 and 10 of those.

    I gave myself a general rule early on to give myself 24 hours to find a cache after starting to look for it. So, If I am out of town and DNF a cache at sunset, If I go and find it in the AM I will just log the find - but also state in the log I had looked previously.

    I like to log my DNFs if for nothing more than to have a personal record of my attempt.
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by brdad View Post
    I may be reading your statement incorrectly, but just in case - you will not see other cacher's DNFs on their profiles, you can only see their finds.
    Oops! No, I misspoke (mistyped? lol). I've noticed some people have special statistics on their profiles (when they find caches, where they find them, who placed them, etc.) that they generate with GSAK and I think I have seen DNF stats on those. My thought that we have more DNFs than others is based on that and the actual cache logs... not the gc.com profiles. Sorry about that

  8. #8
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    Default I've logged a few

    I use them to keep track of those I've missed and want to try again. I will also check each cache I load up and if I see 3 or 4 DNF's in a row, I'll avoid it, or not load it.
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  9. #9
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    The best way to look at a DNF is that its a frown you can later go back to turn upside down.
    "Keep on reaching for the stars. You may find that someday you can pull yourself out of the gutter."

  10. #10
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    Trust me, sometimes I feel like I am the KING of DNFs
    "Keep on reaching for the stars. You may find that someday you can pull yourself out of the gutter."

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